Loose-leaf tablet.



E. THOMPSON..

LOOSE -LEAP TABLET. APPLIOATION I'IL'ED 11110.15, 1910. 1

991,393. 1 11111111111 May 2,1911.

/W 55555 I I THE NORRIS PETERS cs1, WASHINGTON. n. c.

EARL THOMPSON, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

LOOSE-LEAF TABLET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed December 15, 1910. Serial No. 597,534.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARL THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the count-y of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Loose- Leaf Tablets, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to an improved loose-leaf tablet, designed especially for use in schools, reporting work and the like, the tablet being shown in the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the tablet, with the leaves or pages of paper shown in dotted lines at the right; Fig. 2 a similar view showing one of the paper-retaining loops or arches, the back and the cover-board'and portions of the flexible strips which are employed to bind the parts together; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken through one of the loops, the parts being on a somewhat enlarged scale; Fig. 4: a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 4t of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 a perspective view of one of the paperretaining loops and the supporting plate therefor, the members of the loop being shown as separated or opened; and Fig. 6 a horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and eflicient loose-leaf tablet or book which may be so cheaply constructed that it may be placed upon the market at a price within the reach of all students, while at the same time affording a structure which is superior in form and well adapted to the purposes for which it is designed.

In the drawings, 1 denotes the base or back-board or under cover, which will preferably be made of a relatively stiff and firm material, such as binders board or the like, and 2 the cover-board, which will be made of relatively light material and of the same size as the base-board. The adjacent edges of the boards 1 and 2 will be secured to each other by flexible strips 3 and 4, such as linen or leather, the outer strip 3 being made of a length greater than the length of the boards 1 and 2 so as to provide tabs or ends 5 (see Fig. 2) which as will be noted upon reference to Fig. 1 may be turned in under the inner or outer strip 4 which is of a length approximately equal to the length of the boards. The adjacent edges of the boards 1 and 2 are separated for a distance substantially equal to the height of the paper-retaining loops, forming a back section which may be designated by 6, said section permitting the cover-board to be turned inwardly beneath the base board, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

A plurality of paper-retaining loops are secured to the base-board, two of such loops being shown in the present instance, said loops being alike in form. Each loop may be said to comprise a fixed post 7 and a hookshaped post8 which is rotatable about its axis. Said members are carried by a plate 9, formed of relatively light sheet-metal, the post 7 having its lower end reduced and passed through an opening in the plate adjacent to one edge and then headed. This securely binds said post to the plate. The upper end of said post is, as clearly seen upon reference to Fig. 3, slightly rounded, as at 10, and is adapted to pass into a socket 11 formed in the abutting end of the hookshaped post 8. The lower end of said post 8 is likewise reduced in diameter and passed through an opening formed adjacent to the outer edge of the plate 9, a washer 12 being passed over said reduced end and said end then headed down upon the washer. This connection, while being an extremely cheap one, is nevertheless effective and permits the hook-shaped post to be swung about its axis toward and from the fixed post 7.

The plate 9 is provided with a series of tongues 13, adapted to be driven through the base-board 1 and then turned over, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 6 to secure the plate in place. In order to properly position the plate and its paper-retaining loop, formed of the members 7 and 8, with reference to the base-board, the board is provided with a hole 14 through which the post 7 may be passed as the parts are assembled, and likewise at the edge of the board with a slot 15 which permits the hook-shaped post 8 to be passed therethrough as the parts are put in place. This construction enables the parts to be quickly and permanently secured in position and does away with the necessity of threading any of the members or the em ployment of any screws or other separable fastening devices, which are objectionable in use.

The strip 4 will have openings punched therein, through which the various posts 7 and 8 of the paper-retaining members may be passed. It will also be noted that the strip 3 covers the plate 9 and that the upper strip 4 likewise covers the tongues or prongs 13, so that there are no angles or projections exposed which would engage the paper and cause the same to be torn.

There is inherently present in the structure suflicient spring to permit the hookshaped member 8 to be moved out of contact with the fixed post 7 upon the exertion of a slight lateral pressure upon said member 8, the spring being sufficient, however, to hold the parts in position so as to present a substantially unbroken arch-shaped retaining member for the paper when the hook-shaped member is brought to its closed position with reference to the fixed post.

When the tablet is not in use the coverboard 2 will be thrown upwardly into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, covering the retaining loops and likewise overlying the sheets held thereby. hen it is desired to use the tablet the cover-board. 2 will be thrown back beneath the base-board 1 (see dotted lines in Fig. 3) out of the way, so that one may readily hold the tablet in the left hand and write thereon without the use of a desk or other support.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a loose-leaf tablet or book, the combination of a rigid base-board; a coverboard; a flexible back connecting the adjacent edges of said boards; and a plurality of sheet-retaining loops secured to the rigid base-board, each of said loops comprising a plate having a series of tongues struck up therefrom, said tongues being adapted to be forced through the base-board and clenched, a fixed post secured adjacent to one edge of the plate and adapted to pass through an opening formed in the base board, and a sec 0nd hook-shaped member swiveled upon the opposite edge of the plate and adapted to pass through a slot formed in the edge of the baseboard, said swiveled hook-shaped member adapted to be brought into alinement with the fixed post and to form therewith a closed loop for retaining the sheets in position with reference to the base-board.

2. In a loose-leaf table or book, the combination of a rigid base-board; a cover-board; a plurality of paper-retaining members, each of said members comprising a plate, a fixed post secured adjacent to one edge of the plate and adapted to pass through an opening formed in the base-board at a point remote from its edge, and a second hookshaped post swiveled upon the opposite edge of the plate and adapted to pass through a notch formed in the edge of the base-board; means for securing the plates in position beneath the under face of the base-board; a strip of flexible material secured to the adjacent edges of the base-board and coverboard, the ends of said strip being turned upwardly over the ends of the base-board and cover-board, said strip being of a width sutficient to fully cover the plates upon which the paper-retaining posts are mounted; and a second strip of flexible material secured to the upper face of the adjacent portions of the base and cover boards, said strip being provided with openings through which the posts may pass and, with said first-named strip, forming a flexible back for the tablet or book, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, EARL THOMPSON.

Witnesses ASA L. MERRIox, EDWIN COLLINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

